Method and system for optimizing file table usage
US7844974B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 2008 |
| Grant date | Nov 30, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 20, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/544
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An operating system directed to using special properties of a common inter-process communications mechanism (IPC), namely UNIX domain socket-pairs or stream-pipes alternatively as a storage medium for file-descriptors of UNIX processes. When a file-descriptor is written into a socket-pair, and closed in the UNIX process, the file remains open, but occupies no space in the process' file-table. The file-descriptor may later be read out of the socket-pair to reestablish it in the file-table, and access it. This property is implemented in an IPC mechanism of UNIX operating system whereby a process such as a dispatcher may manage more connections and processes than its file-table size allow. This provides scalability improvements of the UNIX operating system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.